nounDate: circa 18281. a strip of tender meat consisting of a large internal muscle of the loin on each side of the vertebral column
2. [from its making possible a luxurious diet for a corrupt police officer] a district of a city largely devoted to vice

tenderloin — ☆ tenderloin [ten′dər loin΄ ] n. 1. the tenderest part of a loin of beef, pork, etc., located on either side of the backbone and consisting of the psoas muscle 2. [usually T ] any urban district similar to TENDERLOIN the … English World dictionary

Tenderloin — Ten der*loin , n. 1. A strip of tender flesh on either side of the vertebral column under the short ribs, in the hind quarter of beef and pork. It consists of the psoas muscles. [1913 Webster] 2. In New York City, the region which is the center… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

tenderloin — 1828, tender part of a loin of pork or beef, from TENDER (Cf. tender) (adj.) + LOIN (Cf. loin). The slang meaning police district noted for vice appeared first 1887 in New York, on the notion of the neighborhood of the chief theaters, restaurants … Etymology dictionary

tenderloin — ► NOUN 1) the tenderest part of a loin of beef, pork, etc., taken from under the short ribs in the hindquarters. 2) US the undercut of a sirloin. 3) N. Amer. informal a district of a city where vice and corruption are prominent. [ORIGIN:… … English terms dictionary

Tenderloin — [ten′dər loin΄] the former district in New York City, in which there was much graft and corruption: so called because regarded as a choice assignment for police seeking graft … English World dictionary

tenderloin — American associated with promiscuity and other illegality Alluding to the choice cuts which the police might take in bribery: ... she was a dancer or an entertainer met on one of his tenderloin expeditions. (Winchester, 1998) A… … How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

tenderloin — noun Tenderloin is used before these nouns: ↑steak Tenderloin is used after these nouns: ↑beef, ↑pork … Collocations dictionary

tenderloin — ten|der|loin [ tendər,lɔın ] noun uncount meat of good quality that is cut from the side of a pig or cow: pork tenderloin the Tenderloin INFORMAL in the U.S., an area of a city that has a lot of crime … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English